Dr. Caeti's
Technical Assistance for Term Papers
Courses with Writing Projects
- Any graduate course
- Senior Seminar
- Administration of Criminal Justice Agencies
- Juvenile Justice
- Criminal Investigation
- Serial Homicide
Writing in criminal justice has always been a major problem. A common complaint of the administrators that hire criminal justice graduates is that they lack adequate written communication skills. The nefarious effects of poor writing in criminal justice can be far reaching and I don’t think most people realize this. Poor writing can result in charges being dismissed, warrants being denied, evidence being thrown out, etc. Further, the majority of the work we do in criminal justice involves writing—a great deal of writing. With this in mind, Mr. Caeti seeks to help students learn how to communicate effectively in writing. His goal is that the student learn here before they get embarrassed by a judge, an attorney, or their eventual boss out in the field where the stakes are much higher and people’s lives are affected.
Expectations vary according to the class being taught. They differ substantially between Senior Seminar and U.S. Crime and Justice. However, the guiding principle for any student should be professionalism. Mr. Caeti expects a student to be professional in whatever work they turn in. This means it must be typed, it must be error free, it should be pleasing to the eye, it should be clear to read, and the research supporting it should be sound and academic. In short, if you wouldn’t turn it in to a chief of police, judge, chief probation officer, warden, or any other administrator you might eventually work for; don’t turn it in to him.
Mr. Caeti's ideal writing projects would have the following:
- Well organized
- Follows guidelines explicitly
- Well written
- Easy to read and understand
- Error free
- Good academic sources, particularly journal articles
- Professional presentation
- Done on a word processor, not a typewriter
- Has a title page, abstract, and the traditional sections of any written work
- Has subheadings, page numbers, and a reference page
- Clean and neat presentation and style
- No funky fonts or colors
Correct punctuation, spelling, grammar, and other technical aspects of the term paper or writing are not as important as the structure, conformity to guidelines, and actual writing of the paper. However, they are important and are weighted to 20% of the final grade on the paper. Mr. Caeti prefers the Justice Quarterly referencing format, however any author / date format is acceptable as long as it is consistent throughout the paper.
The most common problem is failing to adhere to the guidelines distributed for a paper I assign. Any paper submitted to me should have the standard “four section” journal article structure to it: Introduction, Literature review, Discussion, and Conclusion. This varies according to the specific requirements of the class and the assignment, so check the guidelines.
Professor Caeti’s Top Ten Typical Problems and Revision Recommendations
Mr. Caeti advises students to:
- Know the requirements and stick to them religiously.
- Don’t wait till the last minute to do your research.
- Use a computer, you’ll have to in your job so if you don’t know how, learn.
- Pay attention to the details which separate good papers from poor ones (subheads, structure, etc.)
- If you want an “above average” grade you should expect to give above average effort.
Grading Criteria for Writing Projects
10% Quality of Research, Referencing, and Citation.
20% Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation etc. (- 1% for each error).
30% Content, Clarity of Writing, and Conciseness.
40% Structure, Organization, and Conformity to Guidelines.
Plagiarism
This one is simple. Don’t cheat or plagiarize. I will catch you. You will be embarrassed. You will fail the class. You might even get kicked out of school. This is criminal justice, how could anyone even contemplate cheating when you are studying to work in a system based on trust and honor? Besides, the faculty in the criminal justice department have spent our lives listening to people lie to our faces, what makes you think you could lie better than the murderers, rapists, robbers, and thieves we’ve dealt with on a daily basis? Additionally, we get off on catching the bad people and conducting investigations, so don’t even try it. Still, I have caught someone cheating every semester I have taught or at least had another student describe a cheating incident in one of my classes.
All students are expected to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty. Students are urged to read the UNT Code of Student Conduct and Discipline located in the UNT Policy Manual, section 18.1.11 pertaining to the procedures that will be followed in all instances of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty will be handled on a case-by-case basis with the disposition being at the discretion of the instructor.
RULE OF THUMB: When in doubt, cite it out.
Guidelines for Writing a
Administrative Research Paper
How to Select a Topic for the
Administrative Research Paper
Administrative Research Paper: Points
to Ponder
Guidelines for
Writing a Policy Research Paper
Policy Research Paper: Points to
Ponder
Term
Paper Grading Symbols and Translations
If you have any question, feel free to contact him by email at:
tcaeti@scs.cmm.unt.edu
